


breaking bread

by leovaldez



Series: the romans be vibin [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fake Excerpts, Gen, Originally Posted on Tumblr, POV First Person, Survival Training, The Roman Prequels, Wilderness Survival, ummmm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26303998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leovaldez/pseuds/leovaldez
Summary: “Better to die a Roman than be weak, Jason.”
Relationships: Jason Grace & Octavian
Series: the romans be vibin [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1810354
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16
Collections: File Under: Fics Where Octavian Isn't Two-Dimensional Cardboard





	breaking bread

**Author's Note:**

> **in the timeline, this is book one, so he's 12, octavian is slightly older at 13, and dakota is probably like 14 or 15**

The bread tasted like leaves, but it was the best thing I had eaten in a long time. Scarfing down the little Dakota could spare, my mind ran through what was going to happen. A survival challenge meant we were doing things on our own. No help allowed, and definitely no interference from a referee. We would’ve starved, but the Senate would consider that more honorable than accepting help like this. 

For once, Octavian seemed to agree with me. He sneered at the bread held out to him, saying, “That’s against the rules.”

“You’re hungry,” Dakota offered again. His armor clinked, the sound echoing through the quiet forest, reminding me that he shouldn’t have been here in the first place. I swallowed, and the shame bittered the taste. Earlier, Octavian called me weak. He said I wasn’t a real Roman. Would a real Roman have taken the bread?

“I’d rather die,” Octavian spat out. 

“You’re going to starve,” I told him. “I’m not going to help you if that happens.” Octavian’s cold eyes trailed from the wrapper in my hand, to my face, where he held my eyes. His thin lips lifted upward like I had just told him a joke.

“Better to die a Roman than be weak, Jason.”

I rolled my eyes and passed the wrapper back to Dakota. After thanking him, the older legionnaire pointed toward where the river was—to which Octavian glared holes in my head for even asking for help—and headed back toward the wall. The silence between me and Octavian was worse than before, but at least I had something filling my stomach. But still, even after the bread, there was a gnawing in my abdomen, a spooling pit of uncertainty. 

Octavian’s stomach growled, but he only cursed and ignored it, striding forward like it was nothing. His hand was at his side, poise straight and practiced, ready to fight and die like a true Roman. 

The gnawing came again. Was Octavian right? I was Roman, obviously, but could someone be not Roman _enough?_ The thought angered me, but not as much as even considering Octavian could be right. He was too irritating to be correct. 

Octavian then dropped. I bolted forward, the knife Gwen gave me earlier in hand, searching for whatever monster was there. I would kill them, the way a good Roman would, the way that was taught to me, ingrained as instinct. 

Then Octavian groaned, clutching his stomach. Realizing what happened, I kicked his squirming legs and he whined louder.

“What did I tell you?” I squatted by his sweaty face. “I told you I wasn’t going to help you.” 

Octavian’s face contorted in pain. “Shut up,” he huffed. “Get me something to drink.” 

For a second, I considered if the roles were switched. Octavian would’ve left me in a heartbeat. Is the Roman way to leave a comrade—I scowled, because Octavian wasn’t anywhere _close_ to being a comrade—or would the Romans help their team? 

A phrase from one of my private lessons came to mind. _Non nobis solum nati sumus._ Not for ourselves alone are we born. I grumbled under my breath. Helping other people was fine, but did that _have_ to include _Octavian?_ There’s probably another line that said “not for ourselves alone are we born (unless you’re annoying and your name is Octavian).”

Roman decision or not, I patted his shoulder again and stood up in search for water to give the guy and gleefully tell him _I told you so_.

**Author's Note:**

> here are the notes i had at the end of the original tumblr post:
> 
> A quick excerpt from the survival camp/Wolf House part of the first roman prequel book. It seems right that they would learn to survive alone, and then have a team game afterward, because you’re strong as one, but stronger together. Dakota’s a year or two older than Jason and Octavian, and eventually gets demoted to 5th cohort for something as simple as sharing bread. He’s only supposed to watch and make sure the kids who… don’t make it… get moved to stop from scaring the others. He took a liking to Jason and Octavian before the actual survival camp started. By survival camp, I just mean they dropped those kids in the woods filled with predators and rabid wolves without weapons or food for a few weeks lol… 
> 
> I think the best way to approach SPQR is that you go to school up until 12ish (Jason and Octavian rn, tho jason got private lessons cause he’s the son of jupiter and octavian is a Gifted Kid) and then train for a week with basic fighting skills, and then get dropped into survival camp aka Wolf House. Then who ever is left is clearly strong, and then they have the team game. From then, based on performance you’re supposed to get sorted into cohort’s but really it’s just nepotism cause the Senate is all twisted. I’m going to say SPQR has regular classes too lmao, so they know some math 💀
> 
> anyway, introducing the idea of jason not feeling wholly roman so early is pretty good. the feelings get ignored after this anyway, lol, until later in the books 🤔 but it’ll make this issue more enticing in hoo 💕 jason’s too annoyed by octavian to even register this being a legit struggle. also… he’s like 12 😩… I really had to resist the urge to throw in a “stupidhead” somewhere 😭
> 
> anyway, my tumblr is [@bunkernine](https://bunkernine.tumblr.com/) so hmu here or there with comments, thoughts, crit and flames ad whatever lol
> 
> have a good day!!!!


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